Enhancing kiwifruit pollination with Operation Pollinator®

New native plantings have been established in the Bay of Plenty to support kiwifruit pollination and encourage bio-diversity. Based on Plant & Food Research science, the project is funded by Operation Pollinator®, a Syngenta global initiative to boost the number of pollinating insects on commercial farms. Currently, farmers rely largely on honey bees for pollination but a range of other insects can be efficient pollinators when honeybees aren’t active. These trial plantings include a carefully-selected mix of plants that support insects known to pollinate kiwifruit, while reducing the risks of harbouring pest species, mainly passion vine hopper.

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From what I have observed, the native beetles seem to do the best job of pollinating kiwifruit where there is no obvious male kiwifruit flowers available in the area. My guess is the beetles travel quite some distance to pollinate kiwifruit, so there must be some attraction for them.